Winterizing with red pop

E

estame6

Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
RO Number
27400
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22
I have a 30 foot 1988 sea ray with 350 inboards and last year I successfully winterized the engines by emptying the blocks and exhaust of all water, removing the thermostat's and sucking through about 6 gallons of RV antifreeze till it came out of the exhaust and some.
My question is am I doing any damage to seals or other internal engine components by using this type of antifreeze?
Many thanks for any information...
 
Never heard of Red Pop antifreeze. But if it has a rust inhibitor in it.....you should be fine. I've been using Camco pink (-50 degrees ) for the past 10 years and never had a problem.

IMHO....Just seems that empting the blocks and pulling the T stats is the hard way to do it. Could you shut the intake valves and suck it thru the strainers ?....(if you have FWC inboards )
 
If FWC, thermostats don't enter picture when winterizing. You're just sucking AF thru raw water portion of cooling system.
 
Its the -50 pink stuff I buy from TSC, I do shut the intake valves and suck it through the strainers. I was always told to warm the engines before to make sure the t,stats are open. It takes few minutes to remove them. Again, emptying the blocks while in the area also doesn't take too long and prevents watering down of the A/F.
 
Double D, is this what you do...close the seacocks and pour antifreeze into the strainers with the engines running?
 
If you have fresh water cooled engines, that is the easist way to winterize. Just pour it into the strainer.
If you have raw water cooled engines, take out the thermostat first (no big deal to do) and pour AF into the strainers.
It doesn't get any easier. You don't even need to drain the engines first. AF will replace the water in the engine.
 
if there is no water left in blocks why put antifreeze in there should be nothing to freeze
 
quote:
Originally posted by 44fowk44

if there is no water left in blocks why put antifreeze in there should be nothing to freeze

Click to expand...


Yes, you can do it that way but if you do, have someone start the engine for you the first time in the spring while you are leaning over the side/stern looking at your exhaust. When you see the rust colored mud come out your exhaust, you will never winterize your engine that way again.

I know some people that don't winterize with rust inhibiting antifreeze by keeping an onboard heater going thru the winter. The rust that comes out of the exhaust in the spring is enough to turn your stomach.
 
quote:
Originally posted by MrsRobinson

Double D, is this what you do...close the seacocks and pour antifreeze into the strainers with the engines running?

Click to expand...


Greg...... I have all Groco strainers for my engines....gen and a/c. Years ago I purchased ( they don't make them anymore ) replacement strainer caps with hose fittings on top. I connect a 5 gallon jug of a/f to the strainer tops and add it that way. Very easy process.....close seacocks....connect the a/f and start engines.....gen or a/c units.
 
Greg,
I do the same as Don, does not get any easier.
 
The only extra (PITA) I have to do.....is get the water out of the hose....from the strainers back to the closed seacocks....so it doesn't freeze.
 
How do you remove the water from the strainer to the seacock? Do you remove the plug in the seacock?
 
No..... I made up a piece of 3/8 flexible clear tubing about 3' long that connects to my wet/dry vac......I slide the tube ( into the hose ) thru the strainer towards the seacock....and suck the water out.....then connect a funnel to the same tubing.....and add some a/f in. Sounds strange but it works fine. I do this to all of my strainers. Wet winter storage takes a bit more time to winterize.
 
Thats a good idea. Maybe I will try that. Do you have any 45 degree bends between the strainer and the the seacock. Mine has a 45 degree elbow. But 3/8" should work fine. Thanks for the idea.
 
No 45's....but a sweeping bend from the strainer thru the stringer to the seacock.

Here's a pic of my creation.....it's crude but effective:

winterizingtools001.jpg
 
Do you folks think it will be OK to pour antifreeze into the strainer at engine idle? By OK I mean can this damage the raw water pump impeller? Our raw water impellers and housings are brand new.

We are at a new marina for the winter. We have a bilge safe heater installed which has worked perfect for 4+ years. However, per some of the marina locals the marina has been known to lose power. Thus I am considering winterizing the engine raw water system.

We have full system fresh water cooling so I am not concerned with the engine or manifolds. I'd like to get some antifreeze in the raw water system though, the raw water pump, the hose that runs to the V-Drive and the risers and the heat exchangers.

Thanks
 
Greg....... Do you have Groco strainers ? Years ago there was a company called Thoroflush that made replacement strainer caps with hose fittings to flush and add a/f thru the strainer. I purchased a set of 4 ( 2 for the motors 1 gen & 1 a/c ). They are just original caps with a 1/2 NPT fitting and a valve. That cost me hundreds of $$$$.

IMHO.....Maybe you can buy a replacement Groco cap and have a local machine shop drill and tap the cover and then Home Chepo has brass valves and fittings to make what you need.

But if you keep the strainers full while you run your motor.....I don't think you should cause any damage.
 
I need to check, not sure what brand they are. My guess is our boats have the same ones.
 
On my Groco's they have plastic caps. I ordered extra caps and I used a dremel tool and then put a hose fitting in them. Groco - does make a fitting that screws into the top of the seacock and has a flushing attachment. That would work better. I would be afraid if pouring in a raw water application you would have a hard time keeping up with 5 gallons of antifreeze.
 
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